Entries in Viola Davis
(67)

Angelica returning to see how DC Comics' cinematic universe is finally shaping up.

I may be the one of the few at The Film Experience who is completely sold on Batman vs Supermanand extremely curious about their upcoming films. But I have been most interested to see how they would pull off Suicide Squad which brings to the screen an odd, wildly bonkers corner of DC's comic book history. If DC pulls off Suicide Squad we will be getting something unlike anything else on the very crowded superhero playing field we find ourselves in. The Comic-Con first look footage has now been released by Warner Brothers.

The Onion "I only like movies where the whole cast dances in the end credits"Pajiba Hayley Atwell continues to enjoy her Agent Peggy Carter awesomeness even without news of a renewal yetEsquire an interview with Chris Evans who talks his friendship with the other Chris and his insane Marvel scheduleNY Times Actress Jayne Meadows (1919-2015) RIPIn Contention the moment Michael Keaton knew he would lose the OscarInterview talks to Sam Shepard, still acting, writing, and being cool

Sesame StreetThe Aveggies: Age of Bon Bon. The Avengers spoof peaks early with the line reading "What happened to my asparagus!?" which sent me into lolzThe Dissolve looks back at Ang Lee's Hulk (2003) Variety looks at Netflix streaming data. Daredevil S1 being the biggest immediate hit but House of Cards having a longer tail for streaming. Or something? What does it all mean? It's meaningless without Orange is the New Black data if you ask me.

Happy They're Working But... SighFilm School RejectsWild Tales Damian Szifron's next project is... writing The Six Billion Dollar Man reboot movie for Peter Berg. Frustrating because he can direct circles around Berg if Wild Tales is any indicationJezebel Viola Davis to star in a Harriet Tubman biopic. Sadly for the Viola Needs An Oscar Fan Club (President: Nathaniel R) it's for HBO and she'll probably already have an Emmy by then

BeefcakeMNPP Why does Zac Efron have a huge bumblebee on his crotch -- What the hell?Boy Culture Joe Magianello Magic Mike XXL Poster. Co-sign on the blog post title! MNPP sharing gifs and the trailer for the Magic Mike ripoff Chocolate City

Bruce Jenner (in half shirt) and friends in Can't Stop the Music (1980)Former BeefcakeKenneth in the (212) dedicates "Belinda" (i had totally forgotten about this song but used to love it) to Bruce JennerBoy Culture on Bruce Jenner coming out as a... Republican.

The unfolding Bruce Jennfer story is another reminder, like the superb documentary Prodigal Sons by former high school football star turned trans documentarian Kimberly Reed, that external presentation does not always equal internal truth. Bruce became famous as such a traditionally masculine person in the late 70s, gold medal athleticism and all, which is I think why this whole thing surprised so many people. Including myself. In case you missed it we revisited Bruce Jenner's 1980 movie Can't Stop the Music this very month last year.

Speaking of Hit Me With Your Best Shot.... does anyone know what happened to the guy RJ who ran "(Home) Film Schooled"? The blog vanished some time ago without a trace but there was good writing there!

Bright Star is Brightest Thursday Night/Friday Morning...Because of a forgotten scheduling conflict involving, um, superheroes (mom, they're oppressing us again!) I had to postpone Jane Campion's poetic flowery romance for 'BEST SHOT' which was originally tonight. But here are 4 early entries for A Fistful of Films (which you have to agree is one of the best blog titles ever), Lam Chop Chop, Coco hits NY, and Zitzelfilm to whet your appetite for its visual splendor.

The two hour season finale of Empire, a show I like to call "The Taraji P Henson Variety Hour," hits tonight and though Emmy nominee balloting is literally three months away (June 15th-26th) so there's plenty of time to weigh the options and discuss them, the Empire team is already working hard to win votes. Taraji P Henson & Terence Howard feel like likely players in the Drama races. I doubt Emmy will ignore the leads in a new primetime soap network drama this buzzy and popular. The 1980s were unquestionably the heyday of this genre of television (with Dallas, Dynasty, The Colbys, Knots Landing and Falcon Crest all popular) though it's probably worth noting that the actors within this genre have had an easier time landing nominations then their series have. Dallas and Dynasty, the two most popular shows of this genre in the history of television, were only up for the top prize three times between them. Why, you ask?

Jose here. Ah, it’s Oscar season and all movie lovers can talk about is who was snubbed or who will and should win. While basking in the glow of acclaimed movies and conversations about the merits of sound editing and screenwriting is nothing to frown upon, most people forget that new movies are released each week, yes, even during Oscar season. And yes, most of these releases are of dubious quality, but sometimes you can only watch your favorite Best Foreign Language Film nominee so many times before you want to go see something new, right?

Greetings, fashion followers and actress admirers! Anne Marie and Margaret here with the Screen Actors Guild Awards edition of Red Carpet Lineup. We're carrying on without Nathaniel this time, since he's over at Sundance walking some red carpets of his own.

Anne Marie: Last night held few surprises awards-wise, but the red carpet looks were as wide-ranging as Tatiana Maslany's clones in Orphan Black. Without further ado, let's talk fashion!

Margaret: Color-wise, it was a subdued red carpet, so let's start with some of the ladies in black and white: our queen Viola (VIOLAAAAAA), it-girl Emma Stone, the Supreme Sarah Paulson, and proud "complicated woman" Maggie Gyllenhaal. Which neutral getup is your favorite?

Anne Marie: VIOLAAAAAA! Damn, she looked good. She sounded good, too. That speech was wonderful, and almost made me forgive How To Get Away With Murder for its grievous faults. Sarah Paulson, queen of my heart and the master of photobombs, is also rocking that black and white dress. I don't, as a general rule, like two-piece separate dresses like this, but she is... dare I say... bewitching. (Groan all you like but it's true.)

Margaret: I have to say, all four of these ladies' makeup artists deserve a serious bonus. Their faces look magnificent.

Anne Marie: True. Although, what the heck is going on with Emma Stone's dress? She looks like she's wearing an oversized suit jacket with a gauze skirt stapled on.

Anne Marie: Sort of a Lois-Lane-by-way-of-Morticia-Addams kind of thing?

Margaret: Sure looks like it. If I'm honest, I hope her people pull her something twice as kooky for the Oscars. Liven things up a smidge.

Anne Marie: Any final thoughts on our first 4 ladies in white-and-black?

Margaret: Just that Maggie Gyllenhaal's cleavage keyhole amuses me, and that I'm almost sorry that Frances McDormand beat her last night because after the glorious stoneface Ms. McDormand produced after losing at the Golden Globes, I can't help but mourn for the gifs that might have been.

Michael Cusumano here to take a break from Oscar chatter to discuss a film that was once predicted to be a big year end Oscar contender, but which has just been unceremoniously dumped into theaters in the January wasteland.

I’m not going to pretend I can speak with any authority about the accuracy of Blackhat’s portrayal of cutting edge computer hacking. As a technological moron tapping out this review on an iPad that may as well be powered by pixie dust for all I understand its inner workings, it is not my place to say.

Michael Mann’s new film certainly carries itself as if it’s nailing the technical details at every turn. When Chris Hemsworth’s super-hacker replies “one month” after he is asked how long it will take to break an encryption, you can feel the movie high-fiving itself for going with an accurate answer rather than taking the opportunity to let its lead character show off. The same goes for Mann’s decision to show screen after screen of ugly code, rather than sleek, audience-friendly graphics.

So I'm not equipped to say if Blackhat is dead-on in the details. [More...]